


Romance Subplot

by MastersApprentice



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Assassination, Cute, F/M, Fluff, Getting Together, Illumi redemption 2020, Introspection, Psychopaths In Love, Running Away, illumi is fucking crazy but he is free, reader is an assassin, reader is highkey wild
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:07:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26853439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MastersApprentice/pseuds/MastersApprentice
Summary: Illumi Zoldyck runs away with you.
Relationships: Illumi Zoldyck/Reader
Comments: 14
Kudos: 108





	Romance Subplot

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't wrote a fan fic in at least a year, nevermind an x reader or hxh fan fic so i really hope its good LOL ;,) i also tried to give reader aka y/n a personality because i find she can be a bit of a pussy ass pushover in like 95% fan fics so i hope it comes across well! also wholesome...illumi...i know its wild LOL

Rain pelted down on the roof and windows of the grand top floor office you were standing in. The day was dark and gloomy, sky bordering on black despite it only being the afternoon. You stood somewhere in the middle, far from the closed door but a comfortable distance from your client’s desk. Picking at the dirt under your nails, you waited for the other assassins you were to meet with and arrange a plan with. You were hired among a small group of the world’s best to take on a huge task of killing over 100 hundred people, namely prominent politicians that this particular client had issues with. Having never been hired for a job this big or being paid such big money, part of you was curling up to a ball and dying of nerves and the other half was dying of excitement, succeeding at this job will propel your name among the world of assassins. 

Suddenly a click of the door opening brought you back to the real world. Being escorted into the room by a guard was another assassin, someone you instantly recognised. Illumi Zoldyck. With his striking face and grand presence, he was an eccentric sight, all long hair and big eyes. 

“Hello” You offered, introducing yourself and giving him your name. It was safe to assume he probably didn’t know you because compared to any member of the Zoldyck family, you were a low profile and relatively new assassin. 

“Hello, nice to meet you” Illumi said politely, walking to stand beside you. He looked down at you, meeting your eyes for a second before looking away and staring into oblivion. 

An idea struck you. “So what is your name?” humbling. 

Illumi’s gaze snapped back on you, making piercing eye contact. You had to contain your grin and laughter. He tilted his head to the side in a questioning way, as if to ask “is this bitch dumb?” Taking a slightly-too-long pause before saying “Illumi Zoldyck” with the “Zoldyck” part slightly emphasised. You desperately had to suppress a fit of giggles.

Deep down you knew you were being somewhat unprofessional but the look on his face was too entertaining for you to care. Before you could actually let out any laughter the door opened once again, and 2 more assassins joined you two. Polite formalities were exchanged between you before your client entered the room with two guards in tow. Adorning the finest, blandest navy suit, red tie and a head of thinning black hair, he sat down in his leather office chair to address your group and to conjure a killing plan. 

Working together as a group, you find you all got along well in a professional sense, the other two assassins you had legitimately never seen before were unassuming, slightly older than you and clearly skilled in nen and their trade. Everyone was cooperative and an efficient plan was quickly formed. Illumi would be taking out the most important figures in the assassination, and you and the other two would deal with everyone else, your abilities best suited to taking out large groups of people at a time. 

“Well then, it’s sorted” quickly glancing at your phone, it was 4pm.

“We have 3 hours to prepare and get to the venue. I will see you all there.” You smiled politely to the other people in the room and swiftly saw yourself out. It was agreed upon that you would all dress up appearing as important figures to gain easy access to the best assassination spots, which meant you had to go back to your hotel and change into a fancy dress, and the 3 male assassins would show up in suits. Easy enough. 

Back in your hotel room you were applying your makeup in the white lights of your suite’s bathroom. With every application of products, your confidence grew. If you were gonna kill a bunch of people and possibly have your photo taken by a sly photographer or journalist, you at least needed to look good, but hopefully you would do a good enough job no one would even catch a glance of you in the act. 

The alarm notification flashing on your phone told you it was time to put the lid back on your liquid lipstick and make your way to the venue. 

Arriving at the front of the venue, there is already a lot of people gathering, paparazzi, journalists, all kinds of people hoping to catch glances of famous people, politicians, world leaders and all kinds of controversial figures that would be circulating for the night.

Your eyes quickly landed on your fellow assassins, and you tried not to linger on Illumi for too long. He was so beautiful and you weren’t afraid to think or admit that. He wore a rather plain black suit and had his hair simply tied back at the back of his head, it was obvious he didn’t want to catch anyone’s attention and have his presence questioned too much, but you all needed to look somewhat celebrity-esque. Illumi did a good job of that, he already looked like a high fashion model, with unique features and the height for it. The other two assassins weren’t too shabby, mildly attractive men, probably in their 30’s but considerably more plain faced, especially when put next to Illumi. You walked up to them and in silence you moved as a group into the venue, with enough confidence to fend off anyone who dared question you. 

The job was done swiftly enough it felt more like a dream than real life. You had never done such satisfying work, you stood ground at the bottom of the venue, taking out the less important people who would be witnesses if left alive. Focused on your nen and killing as quickly as possible, you had no room to move your head around and see what the other assassins were up to. But you could hear the shrill screams, cries as people witnessed the killings before they themselves were hit. But for such a bloodbath of an event, it was rather quiet, a testimony to the other assassins stunning work, particularly Illumi’s swift needle deaths. And even more interestingly, there was hardly any blood or gore, just bodies strung all over the place, like some crumbs on a plate. If you didn’t know any better you would think they got hit by some sleeping gas. 

After everyone in the building was dead, their bodies limp and turning cold, you looked to where the other assassins were gathered and walked up to them.

“So, what now?” You asked, smiling softly, proud of yourself. For such an intense job you didn’t quite know how to go about going home. It felt weird to just walk out, but it seemed like a dumb question to ask as the other three assasins looked at you judgementally. Illumi gave you a dead, but somehow very judgemental stare, and not for the first time in that day. The evidence of assasination had already been sent to the client, and now everyone was standing around awkwardly.

“WHAT? Why are you all looking at me like that?” You challenged. 

“I’m just going to get out of this city, as fast as possible” One of the older assassins said, slightly taken aback. The other agreed and they turned to high tail out of the building, leaving just you and Ilumi. He said nothing, just sort of looking into your soul with his huge black eyes. 

“What?” You spat again. You’d come to find out so many other assassins are just rude for no reason early into your career.

“Oh, nothing. You are quite a skilled assassin” He said, but the words weren’t judgemental. They were quite nice to hear and unexpected. He was now looking at you but much softer and normal, even.

“Oh, thank you…” You paused. “You are so beautiful” you blurted. You’d been thinking it ever since you first caught a glimpse of him a year or so ago. Everyone likes to be told they're beautiful so might as well say it. 

Now it was Illumi’s turn to be surprised, he looked away, breaking eye contact. His gaze awkwardly darted around, landing everywhere but you. 

“I...thank you” He said, but it sounded awkward and unnatural. 

He reached to pull his hair out of its ponytail and carded his fingers through the strands, still not making eye contact. His awkwardness was confusing for someone seemingly so smooth and confident, but you weren’t put off by it, simply smiling at him. It suddenly struck you that you were still standing surrounded by bodies and anyone could barge into the venue and see you two. 

“We should get out of here, right?” You giggled. 

“Yeah, sure” He quietly agreed, and you quickly gathered yourself and turned to run out the exit. What he really wanted to say was “you are too.” 

You didn’t look back to check if Illumi followed you, secretly hoping he would play along with you. Reaching the outdoors you were relieved to see Illumi alongside you and gave a small laugh, feeling high off the adrenaline. 

“Oh gosh, what should we do now? Run away? Get food? Drinks?” you clasped your hands together and smiled up at Illumi. Illumi had never considered any of those options. Like with most jobs, after he finished he would make his journey back to Kukuroo mountain and see his family. There was never any “staying behind and spending time with a girl you just met.” But something was telling him to just do it. Spend time with you, be spontaneous. Forget about his family and just do something random for once. He quickly dismissed the thoughts about forgetting about his family but something was still nagging at him to take you up on your offer. Fuck it. 

“Sure, where do you want to go? The police will probably arrive soon, so we should get away from here at least” He found he couldn’t tell you no, being so excited and looking so pretty. 

“Oh, come with me!” you grab his wrist and begin moving forward before he could even think about pulling away and saying no. “I know this city quite well, I lived here for a few years as a kid!” 

You run along the streets of the city with Illumi behind you, the bright lights of restaurants and nightclubs and everything in between serenading your adventure. The rain had stopped a couple hours prior, leaving the concrete damp and the air cool and fresh, but not unpleasantly so. There was enough traffic and hustle and bustle of young people around to hide yourselves in, but Illumi still had no idea where you were going to bring him. Both of you were fit and healthy enough to be able to run for so long, especially since you yourself were still riding the thrill of assassination. Illumi noted how scarily good you were at running in heels, though he remembered his mother is too, so it seemed to be an acquired skill. 

You slowed down as you got to a smaller, more narrow street of the city. As bright neon signs of foreign languages came into view, you knew you were in the right place. You came to a stop and finally let go of Illumi’s wrist. 

“Sorry about that, but I can’t have you run away on me now” You laughed breathlessly. Illumi shook his head slightly in a joking disapprovement. “Anyways, we’re here!” 

Both of you had arrived at your favorite place in the city, and the place that holds so many cherished childhood memories of you. Though you were mostly here for yourself and nostalgia’s sake, Illumi didn’t need to know that. He could just enjoy it with you. It struck you that this was weirdly intimate for a man you hardly know, but no backing out now. Illumi looked all around, the buildings stacked on top of each other here, and each seemed to be more filled with life and quirky character than the next. You began walking down the street and Illumi followed along, looking all around, overwhelmed by the bright colours and loud noises. 

“What is this?” The smell of cigarette smoke wafted in and out of his senses, and the loud sounds of large friend groups conversing and laughing in foreign languages invaded his ears. The whole scene seemed...poor. With the smoke, random vans passing through and gum littered side walks, he definitely understood that this was a place common people roamed. 

But as he viewed your backside, your hair flowing gently and your dress hugging your figure, something told him not to judge too much, and just deal with it for your sake despite how assaulted his senses were. 

“Chinatown! Have you never been to one?” You look up at Illumi, watching him look around. Part of you wanted his approval, and would be disappointed if he hates it here. You suddenly realised he is a Zoldyck...who aren’t known for really going out. But still, you hoped he liked the ambience.

“No. I haven’t. It’s my first time” Seemingly unsure of himself and feeling out of place. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll take you to the best restaurant, it's my favorite!” You say, trying to reassure him. The food, the culture was your favorite and what you grew up around. You were happy to share it with anyone who went along with you, and it secretly excited you that you got such a strong and stoic assassin with you. 

“It’s just up here” you two continue walking further into the street, getting further away from the regular city and into the bright and busy chinatown. Weaving in between stray people and moving out of the way for couples, you reach the restaurant. This time instead of grabbing for his wrist, you reach for Illumi’s hand and gently take it. He flinches and shivers at the contact, looking down from his hand to your face, looking unsure like a frightened kitten. You just smile wide at him, excited to be at the restaurant, and walk into the place.

A short waitress hurries up to you two, and furthermore hurries you into a booth. Being surrounded by so many other people in a much more relaxed setting makes you realise how disheveled and flustered the both of you look, as a few customers and waiters spare you quizzical looks. Suddenly all the events of the night catch up to you and you feel sick for a brief second, covering your mouth with your hand so you don’t vomit. 

“What’s wrong? Are you sick or something?” His words are flat but you can tell he is concerned. You nod.

“Yeah i'm fine, I just need water” and as if on cue the same bustling waitress gives you water and glasses, as well as menus. You note how Illumi doesn’t say thank you, and you say it for the both of you. 

“You need to say thank you, Illumi” And it's your turn to judge him for the day. It dawns upon you he might not have ever been to a restaurant before, but asking that straight up seemed weirdly offensive. 

“Hmmm? Why?” He asks like a genuine question. Yeah, he’s definitely never been to a restaurant before, or never had his parents teach him proper manners. His face looks genuinely curious, his big silky black eyes scanning your face, and his thin eyebrows slightly arched. 

“Because it is the polite thing to do. Every time the waiter does something, you need to be appreciative” You school him, sort of like a spoiled child. Though he seems open to learning. 

“But aren’t they just doing their job?” He asks once again, tilting his head to the side like an inquisitive dog. 

At this time his phone starts loudly ringing from his suit pocket. He doesn’t take any particular rush to getting to his phone to see who’s calling. You feel your cheeks rush red, embarrassed from the attention it's bringing towards you, all the other restaurant patrons looking towards the disturbance of their meal. 

“Illumi! Dismiss the call!” You demand. And thankfully he does, but unlike you, he remains unbothered by all the eyes on you two. 

“Who was that?” You ask, interested to know who could call at 9pm. 

Now it seems something has soured Illumi’s mood. His mouth was down turned, and he was holding himself awkwardly like he didn’t know what to do, but he slipped his phone back into his pocket without a second glance.

“My father. I'm assuming he wants to know why I haven’t told him I’m on my way home” He said, sort of flat and sad. 

“What? You’re an adult aren’t you?” Your eyebrows furrow, wondering why a father could be so invested in his son’s business, though you supposed he could just be worried for his safety, he is an assassin after all. Your own parents stopped caring long ago. 

“Yes. I’m twenty-four” He says, seemingly getting sourer.

“You haven’t moved out of home yet?” Though you weren’t one to judge, you knew he was wealthy, definitely wealthy enough to not be attached to his parents. 

“No…?” it's a fact but he says it like a question. You pick up the menu and begin to flip through it, though you already know what you will order. The restaurant is noisy, many of the customers laughing happily and loudly, and foregin languages carry throughout the air. It’s an open, honest place, with the kitchen open to viewing, and the sounds of cooks talking and food frying is comforting. Illumi mirrors you, flipping through his menu idly, like he really isn’t taking in what he’s looking at. 

“Well, do you plan to?” You ask as you scan through the drink list, hoping you don’t come across as judgemental, because it didn’t bother you, you were just extremely curious. 

“I...don’t know. I guess? I’ve never really thought about it. My parents always want me to stay home” He wonders if he should spill information about his younger siblings moving out of the estate, though part of him knew they actually had just escaped. They abandoned everything and ran away. 

“Don’t you want to? You have more privacy, freedom, you can do anything you want, whenever you want! And you can live in any house you want, and it can look like whatever you want. I live by myself.” You don’t see why people wouldn’t just leave home if they had the choice, unless someone was a serious mummy’s boy. 

Illumi thinks about what you said while staring down at the glossy menu. Does he want to move out of home? Have the freedom? He feels free...he’s sure of it. He can’t really tell. The Zoldyck estate is all he’s ever known and he’s never seriously thought about leaving, unlike Killua, who ran away with some grotty island boy. When he was younger he would lay in bed late at night and dream about living in a mansion, a mansion with white walls, beautiful art, bright and warm colours and comfortable couches. Not the Zoldyck’s purple and black layout, filled to the brim with butlers, and a permanent dreariness to it. Melancholy lingered in the Zoldyck mansion like a bad smell, but Illumi never seemed to mind until now.

“Yeah, I’ll see. Ii guess I would leave sooner or later” He concluded, pushing away the more or less epiphany he just had. 

You can see you’ve struck a nerve for Illumi, though he doesn’t want to show it. So you change the subject.

“Do you know what you want to order?” You ask, excited to see what he’ll pick. 

“I don’t know. What’s good?” He questions, flipping back to the front of the menu and scanning the options. 

You end up ordering for the both of you, as Illumi is surprisingly indecisive with food and doesn’t seem comfortable with many food groups or flavour. Any of his previous straight forwardness is gone and he’s unsure of food like a picky child eating a cuisine that they’ve never had before. Which is very plausible that that is the case. You two end up with a basic order of pork dumplings, fried, to share, spicy beef noodles for yourself, and chicken noodles for Illumi. He elects not to drink and just has water, where you have a green tea. The food goes down as well as you could hope, and you talk and bond over many different subjects. Illumi is curt in his responses, but actually not as private as he seems, you just have to ask a lot of questions, he won’t just hand information over unprompted. 

You find out Illumi is a pro hunter, but has always known nen so it was easy for him. Illumi doesn’t seem to have many friends, and he gets uncomfortable when you ask about his social life, and you can gather he probably doesn’t have one. Though he mentioned once a guy he hangs out with and works with occasionally, but he sounds annoying. You figure you can just introduce him to your friend group and various friends, of both normal people, pro hunters, and nen users. He doesn’t seem to have a lot of hobbies, and you desperately try to pry what kind of music he listens to. You think peoples music taste really reflects who they are, but he just gives you vague answers about “popular music” or “music he grew up with” which makes you think he must listen to music SO embarrassing he couldn’t possibly tell you what it is, but once again you figure you can just introduce him to your favorite rappers and singers easily enough. 

You make sure not to ask about his family, both because it seems like a sensitive subject, but you just don’t really care. You're here to talk about Illumi, not his family.. You find out that Illumi really enjoys fashion, and art. He talks about his outfits, clothes he commissions from designers, and all the luxury brands he likes. But he doesn’t seem like he’s bragging, it actually seems like he’s letting out something he’s held in for a very long time. He talks about all the artists he follows, and the art pieces he admires.

He’s fascinating to listen to, and you're keen to hear every single word he has to say. Illumi is graceful, gorgeous, like a luxury designer person, all silky smooth and unattainable, but now you finally have him. You both seem to realise the restaurant has gone quiet and people are starting to filter out. Gathering your stuff, Illumi stands next to the table, like he wants to ask you something. 

“Should...should I pay for the food?” He asks, hovering with his wallet in hand. He looks so concerned, you find it hilarious. 

“If you’d like to, I would appreciate it” You giggle, standing up to walk to the counter with him. You could easily pay or split the bill, you were comfortable with money, but you were starting to realise how tired you are and couldn’t be bothered saying otherwise. After he pays, you walk out of the restaurant next to each other, feeling so peaceful, like you were on cloud 9. But this all comes crashing down as Illumi gets his second obnoxious phone call for the night. 

This time he plucks it out of his pocket like he’s in a hurry, and openly scowls at the screen. 

“Your father?” you ask, secretly upset your peace was interrupted. 

“Yes…” he declines the call again, seemingly even more upset this time.

“You should text him at least, so he knows you haven’t died” You say, your poor attempt at a joke.

“Yeah, I guess I should,” Illumi says, but he doesn’t, he just turns his phone off. 

“Do you want my phone number?” you ask, feeling suddenly bold.

Illumi is taken aback. Does he? That implies he’ll see and talk to you again. But it could also imply you’ll part in the first place. He knows, he wants you. Desperately so. 

“Yes, I do. What do we do now?” He opens his phone and pulls out his contact list, creating a new one and handing it to you to put the details in. You take his phone, noting it’s a very sleek, lightweight one, and type in your name and phone number.

“I don’t know, don’t you need to go home?” You ask, feeling like a teenager again, asking a friend with strict parents if they need to leave the sleepover. 

“I suppose so” He takes a pause, and you two continue walking down the street with no particular destination in mind. 

“But I don’t want to.” Illumi says, quietly like he’s afraid of something. You see he’s staring off in the distance. 

“Sure. Were you staying in a hotel?” You ask, trying not to hint at what direction you wanted this to go in. 

“Yes, but only for the day. I wasn’t planning on staying the night. I can’t go back now” He says.

“Ok then, want to go to mine? We can just catch a taxi” You ask, hoping it didn’t come off as forward as it sounded. 

~

You two end up in your hotel room, and all your activities of the night once again crashes you, hard. Looking in the bathroom mirror, most of your makeup had faded off during the night, except your mascara and eyeshadow. Taking out a makeup wipe to remove the rest, and suddenly you're acutely aware of the situation. Not only had you just met Illumi, killed a bunch of people, taken him on what was practically a restaurant date, and now he’s sitting on your hotel bed just on the opposite side of the bathroom door. All your previous forwardness faded away, and left you feeling extremely nervous. Would you be sleeping in the same bed? You were honestly too tired to think about initiating let alone having sex, and as you wipe away your foundation you can see your eye bags are practically black. 

Trying to finish up as quick as possible before you overthink too much, you set your toiletries aside and open the door to the hotel bedroom. Illumi was sitting practically in the same spot as before, facing away from you and hunched over looking at his phone. 

“Hey” You call out, feeling unsure of what to do now. 

Illumi only looks back at you and makes eye contact, remaining silent. The bright light of his phone illuminates his face, making him seem even more pale than usual in the dark room. He looks back at his phone, not seeming to be texting or doing anything. 

“What are you doing?” You ask, sitting down on the bed, a liberal distance from Illumi. 

One again he says nothing, and the mood in the room goes stiff. 

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it” He says, quickly turning his phone off and setting it down on the bedside table next to a lamp. You rub your eyes viciously, trying to stop them from closing. Yawning, you realise it’s now or never. 

“Ok then, do you want to go to sleep?” You ask, motioning towards the bed with your hand. 

“Yeah sure” He says simply, still facing away from you, he starts taking his clothes off. Over the night you’ve come to realise Illumi isn’t really one to feel embarrassed. While you had changed into a plain set of pyjamas in the bathroom, Illumi had no qualms about taking off all his clothes right in front of you. You weren’t really sure if you were supposed to look away or if looking at his bare back was allowed. 

Peeling back the covers to the bed, the thrill of being so close to Illumi especially if he was going to be almost naked made you want to scream. But you contained yourself and crawled under the covers, still not ready to face Illumi. 

Head hitting the pillow, you melted straight into the bed. You could feel the bed next to you dip as Illumi joined you. 

“Turn off the lamp” You said, with your eyes closed and ready to sleep. And with a silent flick of a switch, the room turned black and the night had ended. 

~ 

Cracking your eyes open to the unfamiliar room, you slowly took in your surroundings from your position on the bed. Kicking out your legs to stretch them and suddenly hitting another set of legs shocked you enough to swiftly turn your head to see the other person, to then be greeted by a very large, very black pair of eyes wide open and fixated on yours. You felt momentarily paralysed as your heart dropped to your stomach, before realisation of where you were and who you were with set in. Right, it’s just Illumi Zoldyck. He blinked a few times, eyes still boring holes into yours, before he looked the other way and grabbed his phone off the nightstand. You vaguely registered the peltering sound of rain in the background and your own dehydration. 

“Good morning, Illumi” You said, but it came out more like a whisper. 

“Oh, good morning” Illumi said, looking over at you. Your heart clenched for a second at the intimacy of this all. The whole situation felt sweet, and thrilling. Illumi seemed to be thumbing through a slew of texts, skimming over them. You found it funny how he never seemed to answer any of them. From his father’s calls last night, you could interpret they were probably from his family, wondering of his whereabouts. 

Illumi’s long silky hair was fanning all over the pillow and bed, but it wasn’t as smooth as it was last night, it seemed to have tangled slightly over the night. He was covering most of his chest and body with the bed covers, but his bare collar bones and arms were exposed. You stood up to get yourself ready for the day before you got caught staring at Illumi for too long. 

After getting ready, you ask Illumi if he wants breakfast, and you two agree to go to a cafe. Walking around the city you were both still on high alert, as it was very unusual to stay around the area after completing an assassination. But, the city was big and you guys made sure to conceal your identities, even if you had a mini heart attack every time you saw a police officer. Illumi had no choice but to get redressed back into his suit, so you guys go to a shopping centre and he buys himself some new clothes, namely designer skinny black jeans and a black turtleneck. 

Over breakfast, you both work up the energy to have proper conversations again.

“I wanted to tell you something,” Illumi began, taking a deep breath in. “Last night, I wanted to tell you how beautiful you are.” he said, it was monotone, but the corners of his mouth were tilted up, before he took a quick forkful of scrambled eggs.

“Oh, thank you” You blush at his words, hurrying to take a bite of your own croissant. 

“You’re very strong, you possess great skills” He continued, gazing at you intently, but without much expression as per usual. You really were not expecting this sudden dishing of compliments. You were confident in your skills and appearance, but it felt even better to hear it from Illumi, to be acknowledged by him.

“I-, thank you...I appreciate it” You quickly took another bite of the croissant, trying not to smile too much. In that moment you realised how much Illumi looked like a doll, with his huge eyes, small mouth and arched, shapely eyebrows. Like a personified ball jointed doll. Swallowing down the croissant, you tried to keep yourself composed. 

“Where will we go after this?” Illumi asked, suddenly putting his knife and fork down. Ever since you met you’ve been unseparated, and it was sort of unspoken that this was Illumi’s version of running away from home. It felt so natural, for some reason. Usually you get tired hanging around people for more than a day, but now you never want to leave Illumi’s side. You raise your head to make eye contact. 

“Well… I’m probably going to make my way home. I don’t live in this country.” You say, and it was true. You moved away long ago, and have your own house. “I’ll take an airship back.”

Illumi seemed to think over what this meant for a moment. “What country do you live in?” 

You tell him, and he seems to think about things even harder, and you want to laugh at his serious thinking face. 

“Well, Illumi, would you like to come with me? You can consider it a vacation?” You say, your heart beating in your chest anticipating his answer. 

“Yes, I’ll go with you” 

~  
Over the trip on the airship, Illumi did some serious self reflection. First, that this was the single most rebellious and spontaneous thing he has ever done in his life. Besides taking the hunter exam and whenever he’s around Hisoka, he has never been this thrilled in his life, not by a tenfold. Secondly, he was basically running away from home with a rather random woman. So he essentially wasn’t any better than Killua running off with Gon. The realisation dawned on him and left his heart feeling heavy, and he felt the need to talk with Killua, though he had no clue what he would even say.  
He flips through his phone for the 100 hundredth time that day, reading through belligerent messages from his mother and father, and even receiving messages from Zeno and Milluki, and he seriously contemplated just blocking them. He had no real clue if his family would ever physically track him down and make him come home, he wasn’t wanted or cared about like Killua, and Illumi didn’t find himself taking the threatening messages seriously. He didn’t feel like the Zoldyck family wanted him back at Kukuroo mountain as much as his younger brother. There was nothing he would go back to the Zoldyck mansion for, anything he owned could be easily replaced, such as clothes or technology. So he just turned off his phone and looked out the window at the clouds, brushing his hair out of his face.

~

Arriving back in your home country felt nice, and seeing the big fat check coming through your bank account was even nicer. You and Illumi had agreed that he would stay in your house, Illumi having absolutely no objections to your hospitality and you didn’t mind having people stay over for once. On the taxi drive home, you answered messages and returned calls of your friends who had tried to reach you, some important messages of people going on dangerous missions and more mundane updates like animal pictures, which you showed Illumi, and he was indifferent to, much to your dismay. Most of the drive Illumi just looked out the window, taking in all the new scenery of the early morning light. He imagined himself as a bird freed from it’s cage, being able to stretch its wings and fly far, far away from its captor. It was liberating, being spontaneous, but he felt safe, safer than he ever had in the presence of someone before.  
Looking over to see you smiling down at your phone, a wave of warmth flushed through his body, and he reached over to grab your hand gently. You look up at him, smiling so beautifully, and intertwine your fingers with his, across the back seats of the taxi. Illumi looks out the window again, and as he takes in the rapidly moving trees and buildings, he smiles to himself once more.

~

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!!! leave kudos or comments i very much APPRECIATE IT!! <3333 i wrote this in like 2 sittings so i hope its decent lol


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